


Eternal Regret

by tirsynni



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:15:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29978607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tirsynni/pseuds/tirsynni
Summary: Revali never asked for all of this nonsense. Princess Zelda wanted to hear from spirits: not him.Somehow, this was Link's fault.
Relationships: Link/Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 67





	Eternal Regret

The Temple of Time was said to be one of the oldest structures in Hyrule. It was said that the stones had stood when the Calamity last arose. It was said that one could feel its ancient powers simply by walking onto its hallowed grounds.

Revali called bullshit. He had watched Princess Zelda visit here, her silent shadow at her heels, and watched her pray before the Goddess Statue. Standing in the Temple, he felt nothing, and based on Princess Zelda’s frustrated tears, she felt nothing, either. 

Perhaps  _ Link _ felt something. He seemed stiff even for him. It hurt just looking at the set of his shoulders. Yet,  _ as always _ , Link said nothing. There was no give. There was  _ nothing _ .

Revali forced his feathers to not fluff and glared at the broken wall beyond the Goddess Statue’s head. This trip was unplanned. Princess Zelda insisted on picking Revali up first among the Champions and then getting Lady Urbosa next. From there, they would travel east to Princess Mipha and Daruk. For reasons Revali failed to understand, Princess Zelda decided to travel all the way up to the Great Plateau. 

Actually, Revali  _ did _ understand. He watched Princess Zelda weep at the foot of the Goddess Statue and just wished he didn’t.

Movement distracted him from his fascinating study of the wall. Revali looked down to see something extraordinary:

Link. Emotionless Link, as cold and distant as that damned Goddess Statue, was fidgeting. His pointy ears were flickering and his eyes, brighter than Revali had ever seen them, were darting around the room. Occasionally, his gaze settled on the statue, and each time, he hurriedly looked away.

Princess Zelda could hear nothing and  _ Revali _ could hear nothing, but Link certainly did.

Revali stared at him, and when Link’s darting eyes finally looked his way, Revali deliberately caught his gaze. Link flinched, a guilty flush turning his pale skin a burning red. Then his eyes widened and he looked at Princess Zelda’s bowed back before staring pleadingly at Revali again.

It took a moment, but then Revali understood.  _ Link _ heard; Princess Zelda  _ didn’t _ .

Link having expressions. Link having  _ emotion _ . Link…

Dazed, Revali nodded once. Link exhaled sharply and looked away. By the time Princess Zelda recovered and turned around, Link’s face was back in its expressionless mask. Princess Zelda barely looked at him, reddened eyes turning to Revali instead. 

“There is nothing here for us. Let us go retrieve Lady Urbosa.”

Link snapped to attention, looking remarkably similar to the statues around him. He didn’t nod or otherwise acknowledge Princess Zelda’s words; he didn’t need to. Princess Zelda didn’t look at him at all as she left the Temple.

Revali tried to catch Link’s gaze, but Link seemed to duck his head and hunch his shoulders, just enough to be visible, before he hurriedly followed Princess Zelda out of the ruins. There was a flush of pink along his cheeks but otherwise there was nothing to give him away.

Frowning, Revali began following their pathetic procession when something sounded behind him. He paused and looked over his shoulder. 

“Revali?” Princess Zelda called. Revali glanced at her to see paused at the entrance. She looked pale and exhausted and tense, Link a shadow at her shoulder.

Revali huffed and looked around again. He saw nothing but --

_ “Revali.” _

Goddesses dammit. “I’ll meet you soon. I want to…” Ugh, he didn’t want to say it. “I wish to pay my respects to the Goddess.”

Princess Zelda’s frown deepened, so focused on Revali that she didn’t notice Link’s minute flinch. Or, more tellingly, how Link’s gaze flickered to  _ behind _ the statue, not to the statue itself.

Before Link could escape, Revali made a point of catching his gaze and narrowing his eyes. Whether Link liked it or not, they were going to have a  _ talk _ after this.

“I understand, Revali.” Princess Zelda nodded at him, frown lines visible around her mouth. “We’ll meet you outside then.”

Only when she turned her back and left the building did Link mouth  _ Be careful _ at Revali. Then he followed Princess Zelda before she could leave him behind. Again.

Revali waited until he was sure they were gone before turning back to the Goddess Statue. He saw nothing special about it  _ or _ the stones behind it. Everything looked gray and dead, without a spark of the divine. It was disappointing, to say the least. Yet Revali knew he heard --

_ “Revali.” _

That. A soft rasp. An echo when nothing else in this damned room did. Coming from behind the statue.

“Who are you?” Revali demanded. He walked forward, wings twitching toward his bow. If it was something truly dangerous, then he doubted Link would have left. Link wasn’t one to walk away from danger, especially if someone else was involved.

That still left… many possibilities.

“ _ Well? _ What do you want?” Revali walked forward, keeping an eye on the statue. Its expressionless eyes watched him walk. He didn’t like it. “Can you do nothing but call my name?”

Something glowed behind the statue. Revali stiffened. He was greatly aware of the weight of his bow on his back and how desperately he wanted to grab it.

“Hel _ lo _ ?” Whatever it was, Revali refused to break first.

A gold light blazed behind the statue, and then something leaped out. Revali yelped and clambered for his bow, yanking it out and nocking it before he saw what the  _ thing _ was. When he got a good glimpse of it for the first time, Revali hissed and almost fired.

A great golden wolf with multi-colored eyes. What the plucking fuck.

It huffed once at him and then  _ transformed _ . Revali gasped and loosed his arrow, only for the plucking  _ skeleton soldier _ to knock his arrow out of the air. It stared at him with its glowing eyes. Before Revali could nock another arrow and try again, the skeleton transformed again. Revali froze. Revali slowly lowered his bow.

“You look like…” he breathed.

_ Link _ . Older. More scarred. An eyepatch covered one eye. His long blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, the color almost identical to Revali’s Link. The stranger stared at Revali with a solemnity which also reminded Revali of his Link.

“Link,” the man said. “It is a… family name.”

He sounded more tired than humorous when he said it. Revali frowned and stepped forward. “So your name is Link, and you are the descendent of --“  _ my _ “-- Link. And you’re dead. So why are you talking to me?”

Why not Princess Zelda? She was desperate to hear anything from a _ nyone _ .

Revali kept his grip on his bow, even if he doubted that he could shoot someone with Link’s face. It would just… make things difficult with Link in the future, that’s all. It was already challenging to deal with that assole without that memory. Also, no matter how great his skills were, he doubted that he could kill a dead man.

When the dead man stepped forward, he walked with a strange lupine grace, calling to mind the golden wolf from before. Revali narrowed his eyes at him and refused to step backward. The ghost called on  _ him _ , after all.

“I have been here for many centuries,” the ghost said quietly, gesturing at the Temple. “I made mistakes, and now I can’t rest.”

Revali waited for more, but of course the ghost went silent. It seemed he hadn’t been lying about being related to Link. “So what do you expect from me? To help you rest?” If so, Revali couldn’t blame him, but really, Princess Zelda had been right there and --

The ghost shook his head. He seemed remarkably solid looking, but if Revali squinted, he thought he could see sunshine shining through the ghost’s pale skin and through his golden hair. He looked alive if not for his pallor and the ancient exhaustion weighing on his slender shoulders.

He looked disturbingly like  _ Link _ , and Revali was beginning to fear that it didn’t matter: even if he didn’t shoot this spirit, he feared he wouldn’t be able to look at Link and imagine how he looked dead.

“No.” The ghost pointed behind Revali. Revali turned around and saw… absolutely nothing. Just broken stone walls. What was he pointing at? “I am beyond your help. I’ve watched the being you call the Calamity for centuries, and I don’t want you to make my mistakes.”

Centuries… Revali scowled at the ghost. He was aware of time dragging on. If he didn’t catch up with Princess Zelda and Link soon, the princess might get suspicious and come back. He wasn’t sure what would happen if that occurred, but he suspected it wouldn’t be good. “Get to the point,” he snapped.

The figure flickered, for a moment fading into that skeleton again before flickering back. Revali flinched. The ghost didn’t seem to notice. “Do not underestimate the Calamity like I did. I thought the evil was the King Ganondorf. Ganondorf was just a puppet. The Calamity is very old and very powerful. It  _ learns _ . Do not underestimate it.”

The ghost’s blue eyes were pleading, so much like Link’s that Revali’s breath caught. “Tricks do not work twice on it. Be careful so your mistakes don’t trap you, too.”

Before Revali could demand for clarification, the ghost transformed back into a golden wolf and bounded behind the Goddess Statue. Revali cursed and hurried after him, but it didn’t matter: the bastard was gone.

Still cursing, Revali paused only long enough to glare at the Goddess Statue before leaving the Temple. Alive or dead, Links were more frustrating than they were worth.

Hours later, after they had settled in their camp and Princess Zelda had fallen asleep, Link slunk over to Revali. “Thank you,” he said softly, so softly Revali could barely hear him. “For not saying anything.”

Revali grunted, looking over his bow by the light of the campfire. If the worst was coming, he wanted his bow in top shape for it. “There’s no need to upset her further, ‘he said shortly. He refused to look away from his bow or acknowledge the small heat in his chest caused by Link’s gratitude. It was the least he deserved from Link. “What did you hear in the Temple?”

Link bit his lip and stared at the fire. The red light on his face reminded Revali of how Link looked flushed with guilt earlier. “The Goddess Statues… they always tell me…” Link shook his head, a strange anguish twisting his face. “That I need to grow stronger. But I don’t understand what they mean.”

That actually made Revali feel a little better. A little. 

Across the fire, Princess Zelda murmured in her sleep. Revali thought he heard something about frogs but he wasn’t sure.

Revali gave in and stared at Link out of the corner of his eye. He looked tired, disturbingly like the ghost from that morning. Today was the most human he had ever seen Link, talking and flushing and trying to protect Zelda with something more than his sword. If he showed  _ this _ Link his Gale, how would he react?

“Then grow strong, idiot,” Revali said, surprising himself. Link startled and stared at him. Revali scowled down at his bow. “Just remember: statues don’t grow stronger. Statues don’t do  _ anything _ .” He remembered that ghost, with its pale and tired face, and he added, “Don’t live with regrets. You might find yourself dying with them.”

Revali could feel Link staring at him but refused to look at Link again. He instead studied a mark on the bow that he didn’t remember it obtaining. He needed to buff it out.

“...thank you, Revali.” Revali’s breath caught when Link squeezed his shoulder, and then Link hurried back to the other side of the fire where he could keep a better eye on Princess Zelda.

Revali didn’t move, barely breathed, staring at the mark on his bow before he surrendered and called it a night. When he dreamed that night, he dreamed of that one-eyed ghost watching the castle. The dream was foggy and vague, but Revali swore that a long-haired Gerudo stood on one of the higher levels of the castle, watching the one-eyed ghost back.

**Author's Note:**

> More fandom and fic info on my [tumblr](https://tirsynni.tumblr.com/). :)


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